THE ZETA MOVEMENT

Changemaker: Giada Crivelli, Damian Stähli, Linh Ramirez

Country of Implementation: Switzerland

The ZETA Movement is a project created by young people for young people, which aims to break the cycle of stigma and silence related to mental health issues in Switzerland. Our dream is to create an inclusive and open community of ambassadors and members who may feel worthy and proud of being part of the movement and that can work together in order to promote awareness and reduce the stigma.

Unlike many physical issues, psychological illnesses and disorders are still a taboo in our society. This association wants to break stigma by educating young people about mental health issues through a storytelling approach.

The concept is based on the three pillars of information sharing, mental health promotion and community building. The core idea is to create a movement where “ambassadors”; e.g. young people that are in a late stadium of recovery, can share in an honest way their personal experiences with mental health issues. Our goal is to be operative in schools and other youth-related organizations. Furthermore, the associations will focus on the building of a community, the organization of training courses for the ambassadors, and the organization and mediation between ambassadors and authorities. Another priority of the association is to draw attention to the topic of mental health in media and in the political field.

We are five students aged between 19 and 25 and we come from three different linguistic regions of Switzerland. Even though our personal life stories are all very different and although every one of us studies a different subject, we have all seen and experienced, directly or indirectly, the consequences and effects of mental health issues.

Find out more: www.zetamovement.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/ZETAmovement

Instagram: zeta.movement